+

Response rates for patients enrolled in early phase clinical trials have historically been reported as 5-10%. An unprecedented number of novel therapeutic options and emerging therapies in lung cancer (LC) have resulted in greater emphasis on early phase clinical trials and molecular stratification.

We aimed to evaluate outcomes for patients with LC treated since 2015 with novel agents or combination strategies within an expanding early phase clinical trials unit at The Christie Hospital, Manchester, UK.

a9ded1e5ce5d75814730bb4caaf49419
Method

A database of patients consented to phase I clinical trials was interrogated for LC patients recruited over a three-year period. Clinical characteristics including histological sub-type, line of therapy, molecular phenotype, smoking status and ECOG performance status (PS) were collected for each patient. Patient records were reviewed for clinical trial allocation, treatment response, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS).

4c3880bb027f159e801041b1021e88e8
Result

Over a three-year period to March 2018, 153 lung cancer patients were consented to Phase I clinical trials of Investigational Medicinal Products, of whom 113 (74%) commenced treatment. The median age of patients treated was 64y (range 28-84) with a male predominance (54%). All patients had a PS of 0-1 and 25% were non-smokers. Histological subtypes included non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and mesothelioma. The overall response rate (RR) by RECIST criteria was 27% across all patients, with a disease control rate of 73%. Median PFS was 6 months, and median OS was 11 months in the entire cohort. Compared with patients with NSCLC, patients with SCLC had worse PFS (7mo vs 3mo, p=0.001) and RR (35% vs 0%). The 28 trials recruiting LC patients in the unit during this period involved therapies targeting EGFR and ROS1, PI3K-mTOR-AKT and RAS-RAF-MEK signalling, DNA repair genes, cell-surface protein overexpression and genes implicated in immune signalling. Novel agents included small molecule inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies, and antibody-drug conjugates, in addition to targeted agents combined with chemotherapy or immune checkpoint inhibitor combinations. Patients had between 0-5 prior lines of therapy with no difference in PFS, OS or RR regardless of prior treatment lines.

8eea62084ca7e541d918e823422bd82e
Conclusion

Our data demonstrate clear benefit for lung cancer patient participation in early phase clinical trials. Novel therapeutic agents and evolution of early phase clinical trial design have resulted in promising options for patients with NSCLC, with RR>30% within our unit, regardless of prior treatment status. However, outcomes for SCLC patients lag behind and new therapeutic options are urgently needed.